There was no way I was going to do that again in a hurry…
Once I understood this new way thing, taking on new challenges became much easier.
This one insight changed the way I approached new things…
It removed the fear and anxiety of getting it wrong and looking stupid.
How many times do we hear the experts saying “Get out of your Comfort Zone”?
….”Because that is where the growth happens”
And they are very right….
But how does it feel when you are out of your Comfort Zone?
Bloody scary sometimes…
You are out there trying this new thing, not sure if you are doing it right and there is generally little support.
Things may go well for a while…
Then…
Boom….
It all falls down crashing around your ears...
you come screaming back into the “Comfort Zone” like a scared 5-year-old.
How many times are you going to do this until your fear gets the better of you and you stop trying new things?
How long until you convince yourself you are rubbish at new things, so why even bother?
NEW PERSPECTIVE
Try this on…
How about we go to the edge of our comfort zone and push the boundaries?
To start, we only push it by 1 or 2%....not much, but enough to stretch yourself?
Then we see the results, the outcomes and we see the change…
Then we push a little more, 3% this time and wow, the comfort zone has expanded again…
The secret is... we are still inside the comfort zone
we are right on the very edge of it, but we are growing it…. stretching it…
What if it goes wrong?
Well we are still on the edge of it, so we don’t have far to come back to feel safe…
Is this better than heading outside the comfort zone, feeling scared and isolated?
I did and this is now how I approach all new challenges….
I expand my comfort zone ....2 or 3% at a time…
Sometimes I will go 5 to 10%, but only on rare occasions….
Now imagine if you did that once a week and you expanded your comfort zone by 2% once a week…
Your comfort zone would be 104% bigger at the end of the year!
What are your thoughts, do you think you can expand your comfort zone rather than get out of it?
Wherever you are in the world, take care and be kind to yourself
Steve Barker
I am Enough Coaching
www.iamenoughcoaching.com